Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 2015)
U.S.A. October 19, 2015 THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 7 Orphaned sisters reunite decades later working at hospital GOP RACE. Republican presidential candidate and current Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal speaks during the Values Voter Summit, held by the Family Research Council Action, last month in Washington. (AP Photo/ Jose Luis Magana) Jindal campaign pushing to move up to GOP debate main stage By Melinda Deslatte The Associated Press ATON ROUGE, La. — Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal’s presidential campaign has panned the criteria being used to whittle down the candidate list for the next Republican debate, saying it shouldn’t ignore the importance of early voting states Iowa and New Hampshire. Without a change in criteria, Jindal appears again headed for the undercard debate, rather than the main stage, for the CNBC event on October 28. The governor’s campaign wants the network and the Republican National Committee to use polling data from Iowa and New Hampshire to determine which of the long list of Grand Old Party (GOP) contenders reach the primetime debate, rather than focusing exclusively on national polling. “We’re arguing that the voters are the ones who should decide this election and the voters will first speak in Iowa and New Hampshire,” said Jindal campaign senior strate- gist Curt Anderson. “We don’t have a national primary.” Under the criteria announced in September, the network said candidates must poll at an average of at least three percent from a list of approved national polls to qualify for the primetime debate. While Jindal barely registers any support in recent national polls, he’s performing better in Iowa, where he’s focused nearly all his campaign effort. Iowa and New Hampshire have an outsized influence on the race, Anderson said, noting that for decades every Republican presidential nominee has come in first place in one of those two states. Jindal has been blocked from the last two primetime GOP debates, and his campaign acknowledges inability to participate on the main stage can damage the governor’s long-term chances at reaching the nomination. By ignoring the influence of early voting states, the Republican National Committee and CNBC “are actively shaping who will win and who will lose,” said Jindal campaign manager Timmy Teepell. Debate hosts set the criteria for who participates, in consultation with Republican officials, and can change the rules even after they are announced, as CNN did last month to allow Carly Fiorina to join the main stage. Crite- ria have not been set for debates starting in November. B The Dalai Lama says Buddhist culture most important to him SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — Two orphaned sisters separated decades ago in Korea have been reunited after miraculously getting hired on the same floor of a southwest Florida hospital. Holly Hoyle O’Brien was adopted by an American couple in 1978 when she was nine years old. A few years earlier, her biological father had wandered into the path of a speeding train and she was forced to identify his body. After that, she went to live in an orphanage in South Korea. Her stepmother had taken her younger half-sister years earlier and left. It’s unclear where the two went. O’Brien grew up in a happy home in Alexandria, Virginia with three sisters and six brothers. Still, some- thing was missing. One night she woke up in tears, telling her parents, “my daddy died, I have a sister, we need to find her.” Her adoptive mother contacted the orphanage, but they had no record of a biological sister. “But in my heart, I knew,” said O’Brien, now 46. “I knew she was out there somewhere.” Her sister, Meagan Hughes, barely remembers her mother or the Korean orphanage where she eventually ended up. She was also adopted by an American family and grew up in Kingston, New York, about 300 miles from where her sister lived in UNLIKELY REUNION. Sisters Holly Hoyle O’Brien, left, and Meagan Hughes pose for a photo in Sarasota, Florida. The sisters, separated decades ago in Korea, were reunited after being hired at the same hospital. (Dan Wagner/Sarasota Herald-Tribune via AP) Virginia. Earlier this year, O’Brien was hired at Bayfront Health Port Charlotte, working on the fourth floor with the medical surgical unit. Two months later, Hughes, who had been working as a physical therapy assistant, was hired. “One of the patients told me there was another nurse, named Meagan, who was from Korea. She said you should talk to her, maybe you’re from the same town,” said O’Brien. The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports the two instantly connected and soon the similarities started adding up. DNA tests confirmed their suspicions this summer. “I’m like, this can’t be,” O’Brien said. “I was trembling, I was so excited, I was ecstatic.” She even called the lab to double check the results were correct. When Hughes finally heard the news she said, “I was in shock, I was numb. I have a sister.” O’Brien does not have children, but is now an aunt to two nieces. She’s already excited about the holidays. “I have this very strong belief that god must be ... like, whatever I’ve done, I must’ve done something good in my life,” O’Brien said through tears. Los Angeles doctor delivers baby on flight from Taiwan By John Rogers The Associated Press OS ANGELES — It was a honeymoon Dr. Angelica Zen likely won’t ever forget, and not just because of the romantic Bali vacation. On her way home to Los Angeles, the UCLA physician made her first unassisted delivery of a newborn baby when a passenger suddenly went into labor over the Pacific Ocean. The China Air flight, which had departed from Taiwan, was diverted to Alaska. Mother and newborn daughter left for a hospital, and the flight continued on to Los Angeles. “When the baby came out healthy, I was just very relieved,” Zen, now back at work at UCLA, said laughing. The fourth-year resident had previously delivered two infants, both under the supervision of more experienced doctors. L “Usually I see adult patients, older patients, and pediatric kids,” she said, adding this was “definitely outside of my job description.” Zen had been trying to catch a little sleep toward the end of her 14-hour connecting flight from Bali when she heard an announcement asking if there was a doctor or nurse on board. “They initially told me it was just a lady having some abdominal pain, so I thought it was going to be something simple,” she told The Associated Press. “But when I saw her, she was, like, very pregnant.” The woman was seated in the plane’s first-class section, where the desks made it impossible to work, so Zen had her moved to the main cabin and placed on the floor. The flight attendants quickly pitched in, providing towels, blankets, and makeshift instruments as fellow passengers recorded videos with their phones. “The baby got delivered, and everybody applauded,” said passenger Edmund Chen, who filmed part of the delivery from his seat one row behind. “I don’t really like to video other people, but this was just a once-in-a- lifetime thing, you know,” he said. He added he was amazed that when, just like in the movies, the crew asked if there was a doctor on board, one stepped forward. Zen said her husband, an engineer, stood by ready to help, but she didn’t ask him. “I think he was more nervous than I was,” she said. It’s unclear if the birth, first reported by KABC-TV, occurred within a 12-mile radius of Alaska, which would make the baby a U.S. citizen. Airport officials wouldn’t say how close the plane was to landing, but Zen noted it was making its approach when the baby arrived. “It was right when we were descending that the baby crowned,” she said. TALKING STORY IN ASIAN AMERICA Continued from page one respect to him. The Dalai Lama fled across the Himalayas into India after a failed uprising in Tibet in 1959. Beijing accuses him of seeking to separate Tibet from China, but the Dalai Lama says he simply wants a high degree of autonomy under Chinese rule. n Polo Polo’s “Talking Story” column will return soon. Give blood. To schedule a blood donation call 1-800-G IVE-LIFE or visit HelpSaveALife.org. DecideToDrive.org